Roc
Roc is Emile/Blair's Archeops in Pokémon White. He was the fourth Pokémon to join his team. ''Pokémon Black & White'' Episode 17: Famous Rock Couple While Emile was exploring parts of the Relic Castle, a female backpacker had a Cover Fossil and a Plume Fossil and gave Emile the choice of taking one of them. While Emile praised Tirtouga—obtainable from reviving the Cover Fossil—in its own right, he chose the Plume Fossil. He then backtracked yet again to Nacrene City in order to revive the Plume Fossil into Archen, whom he then announced as the fourth member of his White team. After checking his stats, he gave him the Eviolite to hold and switched him to the front of the party in place of Haywire. Episode 18: Resorting to Violence Archen had his inaugural battle against Backpacker Keane on Route 4, defeating his Darumaka with an Ancient Power attack that raised all of his stats, demonstrating that Archen was just as lucky as his three predecessors. Ironically, Keane asked if Archen was Emile's favorite Pokémon after he lost. Afterward, Archen defeated a trainer and a wild Sandile in the Desert Resort, after which Emile switched Ottawa to the front of the party in his place. Later, Archen took the field again when a trainer's Maractus defeated Haywire. He finished the weakened Grass-type off with Pluck, and subsequently grew to Level 26. Much later, Archen defeated a Team Plasma Grunt in Nimbasa City, and a short while afterward he was forced into the third battle against N, now revealed as the king of Team Plasma. He finished his weakened Sigilyph and grew to Level 27 as a result. Episode 20: We Met on the Subway While exploring Nimbasa City, Emile entered into the Multi-Train challenge alongside Hilda. He entered in Archen and Terrabite, while Hilda entered in her Druddigon and Bouffalant. The duo won their first battle, and then numerous more off-screen. Though Terrabite almost certainly participated in battles, Archen took up most of the scarce time onscreen, and Emile praised him for doing great in the battles, albeit struggling whenever his Ability activated. Episode 21: The Train Going Nowhere Offscreen, Emile gave Archen the nickname Roc, which he revealed when he sent out Roc during a battle with Policeman Lou's Herdier on Route 16, east of Nimbasa City. Amidst the training, he grew to Level 28 and learned Acrobatics in place of Quick Guard. Episode 22: Queen Elesa ]]Emile sent Roc out first against Nimbasa City Gym Leader Elesa, not anticipating him to be of much help but wanting to get off Ancient Power, while lamenting not putting the Eviolite back on. Roc took damage when Elesa's first Emolga used Pursuit and then proceeded to sweep through Elesa's team, knocking out all three of her Pokémon with one Ancient Power each. Left briefly speechless, Emile stated that his performance made up for his hard time against Burgh. Roc also defeated Lass Maya at the Ferris Wheel. Episode 23: Daily Garbage Run Roc emerged against Preschoolers Sarah and Billy when Haywire used Volt Switch. With some help from Haywire's lingering damage and Cheren's Liepard's repeated Pursuit attacks, he defeated their two Herdier with one Acrobatics attack each, growing to Level 30 in the process. Emile remarked at this time that Defeatist hadn't activated yet. Roc then took part in the battle against Baker Jenn, and later emerged in a few offscreen battles against wild Pokémon. Episode 24: Bridging the Scrap Roc took over the battle against Harlequin Paul on Route 5 from Hilbert, defeating his two Whirlipede with ease. Episode 25: Triple Spin Kick Haywire, Hilbert, and Roc fought a Triple Battle against Motorcyclist Charles. Roc fainted immediately when Charles's Basculin used Aqua Jet. Episode 26: The Cold Never Slaughtered Me Anyway Roc battled a couple of Youngsters at the Cold Storage Exterior, through which he grew to Level 31 and learned DragonBreath in place of Agility in the process. Later, he entered Defeatist for the first time against a wild Herdier that Emile caught for something much further down the line. Emile forgot to heal Roc before entering into a battle against Worker Eddie, but Roc nonetheless defeated him effortlessly. After defeating a wild Audino, Emile healed his team offscreen, and before he entered the Cold Storage Interior, he switched Acrobatics to the front slot of Roc's move set. While battling the trainers in the Cold Storage Interior, Roc grew to Level 32. Episode 28: Clay Achin' Emile went over his team at the beginning of the episode, expressing his confidence that Roc would be able to help in the Driftveil Gym if it proved necessary. Episode 29: Charge N Up After Emile's fourth battle with Bianca, she gave him HM02, which he promptly attempted to use on Roc. Unfortunately, while Archeops was capable of learning fly, Archen was not. Later, Emile used TM78 to teach Roc Bulldoze in place of Pluck. Later still, he used a Protein to increase Roc's base Attack stat. Episode 30: Leading the Charge Emile switched Roc to the front of the party partway through the cave, and he subsequently battled against several trainers and a wild Drilbur. Through this, he grew three levels to Level 35 and learned Crunch in place of Dragon Breath. After Roc gained nearly enough experience to grow another level, Emile switched Haywire to the front of the party. Later, Emile healed his team at the Mistralton Pokémon Center. Episode 31: In the Mistralton She was Standing Roc took part in the Triple Battle against Ace Trainer Elmer on Route 7. His Acrobatics along with Ottawa's Scald knocked out Elmer's Watchog immediately. They made similarly short work of his Swoobat, and Hilbert weakened his Liepard before Roc finished it off, taking little damage from its retaliatory attack. Episode 33: Towering Above Us Roc took part in the battles while ascending the Celestial Tower, growing to Level 36 as a result. Notably, Emile took advantage of a Trainer's Yamask to briefly eliminate Roc's Defeatist ability. Episode 34: Skyla Lander Roc took part in some of the battles in the Mistralton City Gym, and the resulting experience left him one victory away from evolution. Emile switched him to the front of the party as he was about to challenge Gym Leader Skyla but ultimately chose to lead with Haywire instead. Episode 35: Riding the Otter Roc took part in the sixth rival battle against Cheren, battling his Simipour after it defeated Hilbert. He attempted to use Acrobatics, but Simipour calmly used Scald to knock Roc out before it could make a move against it. Emile healed his team offscreen sometime later. Much later, in Wellspring Cave, Emile switched Roc to the front of the party, and he battled against Battle Girl Maggie. He defeated her Fighting-type Pokémon with ease, and the resulting experience caused him to grow to Level 37 and evolve into Archeops. Mere moments before he evolved, Emile remarked on how powerful Roc was already even before evolving, but he said that with the evolution, enemies had cause to be afraid. He proceeded to demonstrate this against Battle Girl Xiao, sending out his favorite Pokémon and sweeping through her Gurdurr and Throh. Roc grew to Level 38 as a result. Shortly afterward, Emile found TM52 and decided against using it to teach Roc Focus Blast. Episode 36: The Swords of Justice Emile found TM80 in Mistralton Cave, and used it to teach Roc Rock Slide in place of Ancient Power. Episode 37: Switching From Virizion Roc is shown defeating Pokémon Ranger Claude's Cinccino, then leveling up to Level 39. He is switched out after the Ranger's Zebstrika paralyzes him and puts him in a difficult situation. During the Pokémon bios, Roc is shown fighting against Swimmer Joyce's Alomomola. After defeating it, he is shown once again growing to Level 39. It is unknown why he grows to this level twice. Episode 40: Twisting Things Around After Hex was knocked out by Hiker Darrell's Boldore, which it had gotten down to one hit point due to Sturdy, Roc was switched in to finish it off. Hiker Darrell then sends out his Gurdurr, who Roc knocks out in one shot with Acrobatics. He grows to Level 40, and attempts to learn Endeavor; Emile refuses to teach it to him. Later, Roc is sent out against Ace Trainer Carroll. Her Gothorita, who had already been weakened prior to Roc's entrance, was taken down by Crunch. Roc took damage from Future Sight, which had been used before he was sent out. He used Crunch to take her final Pokémon, Duosion, down in a single hit. Episode 42: Puddle Stumper While Emile goes over the bios for the new areas, Roc battles against Parasol Lady Lumi. Her only Pokémon is an Alomomola, who faints after only two uses of Acrobatics. He also battles Pokémon Ranger Anna's Cinccino, who goes down to an Acrobatics. Once Emile and his team reach the Moor of Icirrus, Roc helps in taking on the first trainer they encounter: Pokémon Ranger Chloris. After he takes her Alomomola down, he grows to Level 41 and proceeds to defeat her Maractus as well. Episode 44: The Upward Spiral Roc defeats the Pokémon of various Team Plasma Grunts. Episode 47: Stressed to the Nines As Emile goes over the bios for Route 9, Roc battles Roughneck Reese. He grows to Level 42 after defeating his Krokorok. While his Garbodor puts up more of a fight, even managing to poison Roc, he also defeats this opponent and wins the battle. Episode 49: Iris Top Notch! Roc takes on the majority of the trainers in the Opelucid Gym. He grows a few levels along the way, making it to Level 45 and learning U-Turn before battling against Iris. He opens the fight against Iris and uses U-Turn immediately against her Fraxure, switching into Hilbert. Despite U-Turn not having a Same-Type Attack Bonus, it still does a notable amount of damage to Fraxure, leaving it at around half-health. Episode 77: The Dark Arts Roc is the first Pokémon to be sent out against Marshal. He immediately defeats Marshal's Breloom with just a single use of Acrobatics. Marshal sends out Sawk, whom Roc uses U-Turn against, and switches out for Hilbert. Towards the end of the battle against Marshal, Roc is sent out against his Conkeldurr, who he takes out in one turn with Acrobatics. He grows to Level 72 before swiftly defeating Marshal's Toxicroak with another use of Acrobatics. Episode 78: Down to the 'Wire Roc's time during the battle against Alder is brief. He is sent out against Volcarona, but he has no chance to put up a fight. Volcarona immediately defeats him by getting a critical hit with Overheat. Episode 79: Alder History Off-screen, Roc grew to Level 73 while battling the Elite Four again. He is shown at the end of the episode as he is being registered in the Hall of Fame. Episode 80: The Third Journey Roc is sent out against Bianca's Mienshao, who he easily takes out with Acrobatics, ending the battle. Episode 81: The Main Entree Roc battled against Marriland. He first took out Wicketty, Devin's Chandelure, with Rock Slide. He was next able to defeat Drizelle, the Simipour, with Acrobatics. Episode 82: Battle Across Time Roc is the first Pokémon Blair sends out in the initial battle versus Whitlea. Roc first battles against Jaya, who was faster than him. Jaya's Leaf Storm narrowly avoids activating Roc's Defeatist, and Roc is able to knock Jaya out directly afterward with Acrobatics. His next foe is Statik, who successfully puts Roc into Defeatist with Sucker Punch. Due to Roc's Attack being weakened, he fails to take Statik down with a single Rock Slide. However, Roc triumphs over his opponent next turn, with Acrobatics being the winning move for their fight. Lastly, though, he has to take out GoldenPant. He is unable to succeed in taking her out with Acrobatics, so she is able to use Retaliate against him - a move with boosted power due to Statik having fainted the turn prior. Luckily for Roc, he hangs on with just a mere 3 HP and defeats the last of Whitlea's Pokémon using one last Acrobatics. Last Episode: The End For Real This Time, I Swear Before the battle with Cynthia, Roc grows from Level 73 to Level 76 via Rare Candies. Why Emile Chose Archeops Archen and Archeops are currently Emile's favorite Pokemon of all time, beating out Lucario before them and Wartortle before it;Pokémon Black & White - Episode 17: Famous Rock Couple he loves the color scheme, finds Archen cute in a "doofy" way, and loves prehistoric reptilian birds. ] Even besides that, however, Archen and its evolved form Archeops have fantastic move pools and stats that surpass even Legendary Pokémon, hampered only by its awful Ability, much like Slaking. ] It's a glass cannon that's fantastic at what it does, and Emile thought that it would be cool to have a Pokémon like that on his team, plus it has good type coverage considering the rest of his Pokémon. On top of that, Roc has U-Turn to switch with different team members to avoid Super Effective hits, Strong Neutral hits, and Sturdy users, making him an incredibly lead to start off in battle. Stats Archen has a Serious Nature, which neither helps nor hinders any stats. Additionally, his characteristic is "Highly curious", meaning that his highest IV is his Special Attack stat. Moves Current Moves *Rock Slide (Episode 36—Present) *Acrobatics (Episode 21—Present) *Earthquake (Episode 65—Present) *U-Turn (Episode 49—Present) Former Moves *Agility (Pre-Episode 17—Episode 25) *Pluck (Pre-Episode 17—Episode 29) *Quick Guard (Episode 17—Episode 21) *Dragon Breath (Episode 26—Episode 30) *Ancient Power (Pre-Episode 17—Episode 36) *Bulldoze (Episode 29—Episode 49) *Crunch (Episode 30—Episode 65) Nickname Origin ]A roc is an enormous bird of prey in popular Middle Eastern mythology, which also appears in the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons; Emile chose the name based on both that and the play on words since Archen and Archeops are Rock-types. @TriforceZard suggested this name first; others who suggested it include @xandestorm, @Tallacus, @InariRedGates, @TSSB_Greenk4, @ReshiramofTruth, @Chives536, and @ume_coalpaw. Trivia ] *Roc is Emile's first main team member to be a Fossil Pokémon. *Roc is Emile's second team member that has a hindering ability. Teddy the Slaking is the other team member. **Unlike Teddy, Roc's hindering Ability only activates once its health drops below a certain threshold. Both abilities can be removed via Skill Swap, which makes them even more dangerous, although Roc's HP and Defensive stats are nowhere near as incredible as Teddy's. *Roc is Emile's 2nd Rock-type Pokémon team member, the only other being Billy Bob. *Roc is Emile's 6th Flying-type Pokémon team member, the others being Khold, Volvagia, Altair, Trifecta, and Acrobat. **However, Archen is only the second to have a type other than Normal or Dragon, the other being Acrobat (Poison). * Roc is Emile's 40th team member across all of his Pokémon LPs. * Roc is the second of Emile's Pokémon team members to be nicknamed after a mythical bird, the first one being Moegami. * On December 26, 2017, days before the posting of Episode 17, Chuggaaconroy Wiki Admin and Bureaucrat Volvlogia correctly predicted Archen's inclusion on Emile's team on the comment section of the "Terrabite" article.Terrabite comments section * Coincidentally, Roc shares his name with a unique Blade from the Nintendo Switch game Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was released about a month prior to his nicknaming. On the debut of the nickname, Emile even uses Roc's catchphrase as a reference. * Roc's Defeatist was activated for the first time in Episode 26: The Cold Never Slaughtered Me Anyway. * Roc sat out Emile's battle with Landorus partly as the Ground/Flying Legendary knew Rock Slide, which Emile said would make quick work of Roc. Hex sat out of the said fight for the same reason, plus not wanting to one-shot Landorus with a quad-damage Ice Beam on accident. References Category:Pokémon Black & White Category:Rock Types Category:Flying Types Category:Emile's Pokémon Category:Male Pokémon Category:Fossil Pokémon Category:Winged Category:Birds Category:Dinosaurs Category:Emile's Pokémon Team Members